Make your feedback on the Graven Hill planning consultation count
How?
To get your views across to the developer, go to Give my View Graven Hill Residents survey and go to ‘Planning Application – Answer Survey’ .
Only written responses made in this way and submitted by 31 March 2024, will count . What you said at the consultation, on Facebook or via any other method will NOT be included.
For a full run down on how to navigate the survey on Give my View and some thoughts on aspects of the new plan that affect us all, please watch Video 4 below
Note: if you don’t want to go through the survey, you don’t have to click through it to provide your feedback. You can instead navigate straight to https://www.givemyview.com/gravenhillresidents/feedback
It’s a good idea to write out your feedback in an email/word/notes app first and copy/paste into the text box so you have record of what you submitted.
Video 4
What to comment on?
Whatever matters most to you and your household. There are some further videos on key topics below, which may be useful. And we have included some ‘Hot topics’ sections as well. These are some comments/questions/thoughts that the GHRA has heard expressed by a number of residents. Note, these are a summary of what was said/written/discussed with us, and are the views of the individuals, NOT the GHRA. We have included them to help provoke thought and discussion.
Community Centre and Sports pavilion/sports pitch areas
Watch Video 1 below to see what’s changed.
Hot topics -Community Centre and Sports Pavilion
- ‘We have no community centre and we should have one by now. The developer has breached the current S106 agreement (legal document between council and developer to provide community facilities such as community centre, sports pavilion and sports pitches) to provide one, as we have more 500 households when they should have built one. We are now close to the 600 households required for the sports pitches/pavillion. Why is this being consulted on as part of the phase 2 plan, should stay as it was as it was part of phase 1!’
- ‘Sports pitches/pavillion are not just for use of GH residents, they will be for use of the general public/wider Bicester. Will cause lots of increased traffic/parking issues on site as teams will ‘bus in’ or come in private cars. ‘
- ‘Sports pavilion/community centre shouldn’t be joint facility. Sports will dominate at the weekend, re parking and this will impact on use of community centre for e.g. kids’ parties as no suitable outside space for summer use etc. ‘
- ‘There is no budget allocated for a 3G pitch, so that is a pipe dream. They are VERY expensive.’
- ‘There is no separate budget for a Multi Use Games Area (basketball court or similar) the budget is only if there is spare money once the sports pavilion is built. As there is no way there will be enough to build a suitable sized pavilion, let alone any left over, this is unlikely to ever happen.’
- ‘Can’t we get more funding for community centre/sports fields/basketball etc from e.g. the lottery?’
- ‘We really need a basketball court here, there are loads of kids with basketball hoops on the street who play and have no proper court. We also need a flat piece of grass for the kids to play football and other ball games informally. Take away one of the football pitches that are for public use and give GH residents the basketball court – something for them.’
- ‘Don’t put a play area in front of the community centre on outskirts of town. Likely to turn into perfect spot for antisocial behaviour.’
- ‘Amalgamating the community centre and the sport pavilion won’t work. We need separate community centre with outside space so we can expand as community grow, and use outside space, and so it can be commercially viable and community-run at a later date. A combined/jointly council/community run facility won’t work. And who wants to hold a summer fete/party/wedding reception next to the noisy and muddy sports fields/changing rooms with no garden? ‘
- ‘The council can’t say there is not enough funding to build a big enough community centre/sports facilities. The developer is planning to build loads more houses, because the council has told them to. So developer HAS to give enough funding to provide the facilities, that is what the agreement between the developer and the council is for. They need to sort this out before any other houses get built’
- ‘Some were told at the consultation meeting that the planned extra care facility has had no interest and will probably become residential instead. Why doesn’t the community centre move back there to where it was in the first place. All the electricity, water etc is there already – much less time to get it built than starting from scratch in a muddy field. And gives us a separate facility from sports. ‘
- Play Areas
Watch video 2 below to see what’s changed
Hot topics – Play areas
- ‘Need to consult parents and kids on what play areas are like. For example what is it with the play area in the woods – what IS that? So muddy and flooded most of the time as well. Not used. Waste of resources.’
- ‘If we have lots more small houses and flats we need far more play areas not less.’
- ‘Need play areas for mixed ages – how is someone with a toddler and an older child meant to be in two places at once?
Green Spaces
Watch Video 3 below to see what’s changed
Hot topics – Green Space and trees
- Why not retain the mature oak trees/woodland as part of the area and build round it? No mature oak tree should be felled. Like they did on phase 1 at Read Place’
- ‘I put in a request for a Tree Protection Order (TPO) to CDC for the mature oak tree ( which is now due to come down). I was told that development trumps all so they couldn’t protect it. Since then I have been told that’s not correct. it should have been assessed for a TPO, so I have asked again. ‘
- ‘There’s a T shaped bit of land with red border on the plans, to the far south of Graven Hill which includes some woodland and a lake. (its not really on Graven Hill) The developer has confirmed they own this and it will be included within the Biodiversity Net Gain calculation for this planning application. ‘
- ‘Having green space in commercial area is no use whatsoever to residents who can’t access it. Likewise the developer ‘swapping’ a bit of land for former army land which we can’t access is not green space for residents.’
- ‘They shouldn’t take down any woodland. It is really important in summer for cooling walks etc. Especially as summers are getting hotter. That should stay.’
- ‘At the consultation several of us were told that the planners didn’t know the mature oak tree was even there (didn’t inspire confidence). Now they knew about it , they said it would stay, but that as many residents as possible had to make their feelings clear. ‘
- ‘ We moved here for the green space, not to be cramped up like the normal volume build housing estates. It is beyond disappointing to see the increase in housing with decrease in public green space. I know some of my neighbours are so upset at the plans that they are thinking of putting their houses up for sale. This is really bad news for Graven Hill.’
- ‘They are some planted ‘tree’ areas on the hill on the plan. Those are to replace trees coming down this time, I suppose. But we’ve got to make sure they don’t what they did before when ‘replanting’ – the previous saplings have been ignored, not looked after. So they haven’t thrived or grown hardly at all, lots of them have died. It also looks really ugly -serried ranks behind a high wire fence and has a mixture of lots of hedge plants in there e.g. honeysuckle not trees. This has not replaced the trees which were cut down. We don’t want that again…Keep the trees in the first place’
Parking
From GHVDC Give My View consultation
‘Stage 1 parking provision adhered to the County’s adopted parking standards, with an aspiration for two spaces per house and 0.6 -0.9 spaces for visitors across the area.
The latest Oxfordshire County Council transport policy requests a reduction in the amount of parking provision for new developments. It reduces to one space for 1 & 2-bed properties and visitor spaces to 0.2′
At the consultation it was suggested to some residents that they should consider asking that Graven Hill should not be classed as a town (to which standards above apply) but as a rural village or hamlet because Graven Hill has minimal public transport and lacks direct walking and cycling routes and facilities. Please see below.
From Oxford County Council parking provision document https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/file/roads-and-transport-policies-and-plans/PARKINGS.PDF
‘ It is recognised that for development proposals that are located in rural areas of Oxfordshire, such as villages and hamlets, access to frequent public transport services and high standards of direct pedestrian and cycle connections is not always available (unless it is provided by a new development). This tends to mean that the range of facilities and services expected to accommodate a reduced level of car parking provision is not always possible without causing indiscriminate carriageway parking and highway safety issues. On this basis, the parking standards in Table 4(b) are appropriate to use. When such standards are used a justification will be required within a transport submission.’
Table 4(b): Car Parking Standards for the rest of Oxfordshire (Villages & Hamlets)
| Rural Oxfordshire | Parking Provision |
| 1-bedroom dwelling | Up to 1 space per dwelling to be provided within the development site |
| 2-bedroom dwelling | Up to 2 spaces per dwelling to be provided within the development site |
| 3 – 4-bedroom dwellings | Up to 2 spaces per dwelling to be provided within the development site |
| 5+ bedroom dwelling | Up to 3 spaces per dwelling to be provided within the development site |
Hot Topics – Parking
- ‘There are already lots of issues with parking at Graven Hill, I have to weave dangerously in and out of cars parked in the road since the latest houses have been built. ‘
- ‘The flats should never have been able to be sold without purchasing a parking space. That has caused lots of parking issues with cars being parked everywhere on streets near the retail units. That definitely should be stopped in the next phase by making it part of the contract of sale to include the parking. Also there are a lot of Air BNBs in the flats. That needs to be banned , if we are meant to be building permanent homes for local people.
- ‘There are no direct walking or cycling routes to Tesco. And the routes to Bicester and the station are not safe or well maintained. The underpass is dark and scary in winter. And its down a private road which is going to be shut. What do we do then? The bus service is very scanty – only goes to two or three places and runs very infrequently and often late. It only comes to the front of the site. You can’t realistically live on Graven Hill and rely on public transport. We don’t have a proper grocery shop, doctor, chemist, community centre secondary school, nursery for young babies or any sports facilities. If you have difficulty walking or cycling, can’t carry heavy shopping, have young kids, need to get to work etc. you need the use of a car to live here. We should be classed as rural not town because we are so cut off and lacking in facilities. We should argue for the rural level of parking provision as per the OCC parking provision document to allow for the numbers of cars people need here. There will definitely will be a major problem with ‘indiscriminate carriageway parking and highway safety issues ‘ in future if they bring in the reduced parking provision applicable to a town. In fact, there already is. They can’t have it both ways, – we either have the facilities required or we should have the higher rural parking allowance.’
- ‘The level crossing at Bicester Village station is going to close. That’s our most direct route to town on foot. They are talking about 2028 (if then) for to get a footway over or under the railway. We are going to be cut off’
- ‘There is only going to be one relatively narrow road into and out of Foundation Square once the current road is closed. And loads more houses. I have estimated up to 300 cars even with less parking provision. Not to mention building lorries, deliveries, visitors etc. Where is everyone going to park – on the road of course. There is no bus stop nearby. There will be a traffic jam in and out at peak times. The walk into town will take 45 mins if the underpass is not accessible. When I can’t walk that far or stop driving I will have to move.’
- ‘There is not enough parking here already or it is badly designed and difficult to use so people don’t use it. ‘
Graven Hill Residents' Association 